Seaside Holiday
by Rassilon001
Summary: A break from the usual routine has the Autobots and their human friends involves the visiting of a beach on a deserted tropical island. It's a time for some much needed rest and relaxation.


**Disclaimer:  
><strong>I do not own the awesome series of Transformers Prime, obviously. It belongs to Hasbro, who are indefinitely more wealthy than I shall ever be, and a darn sight smarter as well.

**Summary:  
><strong>A break from routine has the Autobots and their human friends involves the visiting of a beach on a deserted tropical island. It's a time for some much needed rest and relaxation. Rated PG for some light Transformer cursing. Takes place after 'Crisscross' and before 'Metal Attraction.'

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><p>"<em>Sometimes we put walls up not to keep<br>__people out, but to see who cares enough  
><em>_to break them down_."

- **Unknown Author**.

* * *

><p><strong>Deserted Tropical Island, Pacific Ocean<br>****0925 hours, Saturday**

"Woohoo!"

The Ground Bridge had scarcely closed behind them in a swirl of green energy before Miko all but tore off her shirt, then kicked off her shorts, revealing her green, two-piece bathing suit underneath. It bore an army fatigues pattern along it, which didn't really surprise anyone present. Barely waiting for her clothes to hit the ground, she took off like a shot past her fellow humans and the Autobots alike, running full tilt along the sand until she hit the water. She waded in perhaps two or three more additional feet before diving in.

"She always this enthusiastic?" asked June pointedly as she made her way forward, unfolding her chair in a suitable spot on the sandy dune, far enough from the water she didn't risk getting wet, but close enough she could keep an eye on everyone who was swimming. She had on a one-piece white bathing suit, and was still wearing her regular shirt over it, though she'd left it unbuttoned.

"Well, she certainly does have her moments," replied Jack after a moment's thought, setting up their umbrella so it would overshadow the chair. "Frankly I'm more worried when she's being too quiet. That's when you know she's up to real mischief."

"I can hear you two, you know!" Miko shouted at them from the water, her pinkish pigtails now wet and clinging to her head as she glared at them from the water in mock anger.

"She can hear, but she's a long way to go before she's actually _listen_ing," interjected Arcee as she kneeled down in the sand beside her human family. June and Jack shared a laugh with her over that, in complete agreement. The petite Asian girl fumed from the water, arms crossed in front of her.

Bumblebee glanced down at the tiny human boy carried in his hand, a nonsensical series of beeps and whistles emerging from him, the meaning lost to the other humans present, but the tone somewhat clear. A question.

Raphael smiled, adjusting the goggles covering his face in lieu of his customary glasses. "No, it's okay, we'll go in later. Why don't we build a sand castle first?"

An approving beep, and the yellow Autobot carried young Raf down to the edge of the beach where the sand was wetter and thus, more malleable.

Stumbling along in the back of the group, Special Agent William Fowler dropped their ice box with a grunt, letting it sink into the sand. "Don't see why I have to be the one carrying all the drinks," he muttered, struggling with the heavy cooler, full of sodas and ice. He was starting to think he was more out of shape that he'd realized. One reason he was still wearing a t-shirt over his bathing trunks still, just like Jack was. "That does it, first thing I do after I get back from this trip is hit the gym," he muttered under his breath.

"Allow me, Special Agent Fowler," intoned Optimus, as an enormous metallic hand came down and picked up the ice box as if it was no heavier than an empty cardboard box.

"Thanks," replied the Special Agent curtly, flipping down his sunglasses and adjusting the navy blue towel hanging over his shoulder. He wasn't exactly ungrateful for the help, but it still didn't sit well with him how helpless he often was when standing next to an Autobot.

Optimus Prime carried the ice box over to where the others were laying out their towels and setting up, while Bulkhead lay a much larger portable refrigeration unit beside it. It contained several energon packs the Autobots would be taking later in the day, not too dissimilar from the way their human friends drank water and caffeinated beverages. His task finished, Optimus took a moment to smile faintly, pleased at the sight of this, his dream. Humans and Autobots living and playing together, partners, friends, family. After so long worrying about the future of not only his own race, but humanity as well, it was a sight that warmed his spark.

Miko had been the one to suggest the outing, but Optimus Prime had been the one to give it his full support. After deca-cycles of endless patrols with only six Autobots, they had been plunged into a sudden series of battles and conflicts with their Decepticons enemies following the return of their ruthless leader. The death and resurrection of Megatron, the rise of the undead Terrorcons, the introduction of MECH, and other adventures. These had taken their toll on the bodies and spirits of his team and their human allies. Therefore, he suggested they all join in this 'beach trip' Miko had suggested. A chance to rest and relax, as well as continue to learn more about their human friends and their traditions, baffling though they might've been.

Optimus Prime had invited Jack's mother along, explaining that since it was a chance for his team to relax with their human friends and enjoy some Earthbound activities, it was also a suitable chance for her to learn more about them. At a time when they were not in danger of Decepticon attack, dissection by MECH, or infestation from hungry scraplets. And of course when he'd heard about it, Special Agent Fowler had decided to take an emergency team-building mission away from his usual operations to join the Autobots on their little retreat away from work.

Of their extended family, only Ratchet had declined joining them. And he'd had numerous reasons to refuse ready and waiting, it seemed.

_"Need to keep monitoring for Dark Energon signals."_

_"I don't like this sudden lack of Decepticon activity."_

_"Someone has to stay behind and be ready to activate the Ground Bridge."_

_"Those new medical supplies aren't going to unpack themselves!"_

Optimus had finally been forced to concede defeat, and allow his old friend to remain behind while he joined the others in this rare leisure trip. He had almost turned down such himself, but Ratchet had threatened to pull rank as Medabot Officer if he didn't take at least a few hours to rest and relax.

"Hey Bulk! Come on, get in the water already!"

Miko continued to wave from waist-deep in the ocean, beckoning on her much bigger guardian, who was wading into the water slowly, mindful as he was that every step he took made tiny tidal waves. Which were coming dangerously close to knocking Miko over, not that she was complaining.

June Darby, reclining in her chair, lifted her head and tugged down on her sunglasses, eyeing the Autobot wading into the water curiously. "Uhm, is that safe for him? I mean, you Autobots don't rust in water, do you?" she asked, glancing up at Arcee for confirmation.

The blue femme shook her head. "No, but Ratchet provided a liquid plastic coating to apply just to make sure we don't suffer any damage from the elements. The heat, the sand, the wind and the water. Alone none of them are a problem, but together, well..."

"Ah, like suntan lotion."

"Pretty much. Which reminds me, I need to go apply mine... I didn't have time before we left. Jack, gimme a hand?"

The teenaged boy glanced up from where he was smoothing out his towel on the ground, a little surprised at being addressed, he nodded, quickly scurrying over the hot sand to where Arcee was sitting back down. She was applying the coating to her forearms and the most easily reached parts of her chassis but, like the humans she closely resembled, was not quite able to reach her back as well. Thus, her partner was called on to help her with that.

"Just make sure you cover the outer plating and all of my joints, I don't want to have damage later," she warned him, turning her attention back to covering her front while Jack began to apply the substance to her back.

"This stuff isn't dangerous to humans, is it?"

"Don't think so. One way to find out, isn't there?" she asked, smirking over her shoulder, and Jack made a face. It was clear they were joking with one another, the sarcasm was so thick you could cut it with a titanium knife.

June smirked as she watched, tugging her sunglasses back down and lounging back in her seat, opening up a book she'd brought with her to read. A study on cardiology.

At the edge of the group, Bumblebee was paying rapt attention as Raf showed him how to make a sand castle, constructing the towers from sand scooped up in his bucket and using a small spade to push the walls together. He chattered away a mile a minute while the two of them worked on it, explaining how he'd once had to infiltrate a similar looking fortress on Colony Omicron.

"So you broke in here, by climbing over the wall?"

_Beep. Boop-beep-beep._

"Wow, that's amazing. And how many Decepticons did you say that was? Nine?"

_Boop-beep-ba-beep-beep._

"Ooh, I see. Wow, that's a lot. Good thing Arcee was with you then."

_Beep-ba-boooooop._

"Oh, I'm sure you could've done it by yourself. You're awesome, after all! Oh hey... perfect."

Raf reached out, distracted for the moment as he spied a shell resting on the beach. This he applied to one of the walls of his little sand castle, decorating it.

_Beep. Boop-bip-beep._

"Oh yeah, we decorate with little rocks and shells and stuff. Makes it look better," Raf explained, hopping to his feet. He made his way further out to sea, where the tidal waves dissipated, brushing against his legs, and began to search for more ornamentation for his castle. Bumblebee followed close behind as the small boy began picking up various rocks and sea shells, tossing them into his bucket for easy transport.

* * *

><p>A few hours passed, and the sun rose up high in the sky, beating down hard upon the Autobots and humans alike. But the tropical breeze helped to keep things from being unbearable. Raf and Bumblebee, having completed their sand castle, were only a little dismayed when it was accidently crushed underfoot during Bumblebee's subsequent victory dance. They decided to build another one later, but for now, joined Miko and Bulkhead in the water. The four of them were splashing each other (very, very lightly, in the case of the bigger Cybertronians). Jack was still sitting on the shoreline with his Mom and Arcee, explaining some of the finer points of their life on Earth.<p>

"... but mostly we keep on the lookout to find energon or Cybertronian relics. It's like food for us, but its rare as gold on your world, and keeps almost as well. We stashed a lot of it here during the Great War, and its been hidden or abandoned and every so often they find some and try to get it before anyone else does. They've been helping out a little with that," explained Arcee, indicating Jack and the other humans. "They get the stuff in places we can't go and help haul it back to the base."

"Well that certainly does explain why he always looks so ragged around the edges. Is energon dangerous to handle for long periods of time?" asked June. "Like, for humans I mean?"

"In its raw form its unstable but far as Ratchet's been able to determine its energy is clean. No radiation or toxins or anything like that. Nothing organic life forms need to worry about."

"Oh darn, terrible shame that," replied Jack, half-sarcastically, who'd returned from the coolers, placing a diet soda beside his mom and offering a canister of liquid energon to Arcee. "And here I thought as a side benefit I could go find a spider, get bitten, and develop super powers or something."

Arcee paused at the comment and glanced back at him with a frown across her pretty features. June had a similar look, but seemed to pale at the thought instead. It didn't take a genius to see their thoughts had followed a similar track to an unpleasant topic. It took Jack only half a second to catch up.

He winced at the horrible memory. "Right, sorry, forgot we hate spiders."

"Some more than others," Arcee replied, popping the lid of her canister. June nodded, shivering at the memory.

"Spiders are evil, soulless monsters," stated Miko cheerfully, as she ran up onto the beach, trying (and failing) to scrape the sand from her wet feet before she made her way up to the cozy little gathering and grabbed Jack's wrist. "Oh hey, Arcee, need to borrow Jackie here."

The blue femme smirked. "Make sure he's back at a reasonable hour."

Jack grimaced, trying his best to remove his shirt as Miko continued to drag him along. "Gee thanks. I've already got one Mom, Arcee, I don't need another."

His own mom laughed at that as the little girl dragged him down towards the waters and promptly pushed him in, being none-too-subtle about directing him into the water.

"Alright, alright, I'm in, what're you doing Miko?"

"Shaddup and kneel down, I wanna get the advantage before I go challenging Bulkhead," she replied.

"Advantage?" he asked, puzzled. "What advantage?"

"Kneel!" she commanded, and when he didn't comply fast enough, she grabbed his bare shoulders and pushed. Confused, he did as he was told, grateful the water only came up to his chin here. Sufficiently lowered, Miko wasted no time in clambering up onto his shoulders so that when he stood back up, she had an excellent perch. Almost doubling her height.

"Advantage!" she declared, arms and legs thrown out dramatically, trusting Jack to catch her before she fell, which he did. Somewhat skeptical still, Jack glanced up at Bulkhead, who still towered above them, and then over his shoulder at Miko.

"You're nuts," he declared.

"Oh relax, we'll be fine. Now, onward! To glorious victory or everlasting defeat!"

"I'll take an order of defeat with a side of peaceful surrender," muttered Jack, but reluctantly complied, holding Miko's knees to make sure she didn't fall off and charging forward as best he could through the salty waters.

June and Arcee weren't the only ones laughing at the rather comical display of two humans trying to overbear the much larger Bulkhead, who looked positively confused by the assault. Just about everyone watching joined in, from Agent Fowler to Bumblebee and Raf. Even Optimus allowed himself a small smile at the sight.

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><p>Hours of fun in the surf later, the sun was just starting to set, bathing the tropical little island in crimson and purple hues. Checking his internal chronometer and realizing the time it would be back in Nevada, Optimus Prime privately conferred with June Darby and Agent Fowler regarding the late hour, requesting their input on a decision he had to make.<p>

"I understand human children regularly have to be back at home and asleep by a certain hour, usually just after dusk comes," he explained. "A curfew, I believe the tradition is called. If so, I can contact Ratchet for a Ground Bridge back to your respective homes."

"Forget that Prime, parties just started," replied Fowler, tossing back another drink. Optimus turned to regard the only other adult human present, seeking her opinion.

Normally she would agree it was late, but, after casting a glance out at the shoreline, seeing how much the kids were having fun with their Autobot friends... "there's no need, it's a Saturday," she ultimately decided. "And this is the first night in a long time I'm off shift. A few more hours won't hurt, I guess."

Optimus nodded in agreement. "Very well then. A little while longer."

Miko jumped at the declaration. "SAH-weet!" she exclaimed, having evidently been listening in on their not-so-private conversation. "Then we can totally break out the fireworks I brought along. It's a perfect time for that!"

Optimus Prime tilted his head at the odd expression. "Fireworks?"

The pink-haired Asian girl ran over to her guardian, who looked equally confused. "Bulk, open up! I think I left them in the backseat!"

Confused, the great green mech opened up his chest-plate and reached within himself, finally finding and tugging out a plastic bag, lowering it down to Miko's level, who grasped it eagerly. "Miko, you really need to stop leaving stuff in there. Doc-bot says it isn't healthy for me."

"Oh don't be such a big baby," she replied, rummaging through the bag and producing some sparklers. "Anyone got a light?"

It turns out Jack did, producing it from his back pocket with a flourish.

"Always prepared?" asked June.

Jack and Arcee traded a look. "It comes in handy," he replied, lighting Miko's sparkler and standing well back. "Never know when a pocket knife and a lighter are gonna save your life."

The excitably fifteen year old immediately handed out some of them to the others, waving her own around like it was a magic wand and overall having a brilliant time. Raf followed suit after a few moments, and then Bumblebee and Bulkhead joined in. So Miko brought out the big guns, and dumped out the rest of her bag's contents, including just about any kind of firework a private citizen could purchase legally. Most of which were covered in Japanese kanji.

"Miko where did you get all of this?" asked Raf, nudging one of the tiny rocket models with his foot.

"Real parents sent them to host parents a while back as my birthday present, but they hid the box in the closet thinking I'd never find it."

It didn't take a genius to figure out the rest of the story, but Bulkhead asked anyway, somewhat reluctantly. "And they probably think it's still there?"

She smirked, not in the least bit shamed. "Probably."

"And these are not weapons?" inquired Optimus, eyeing the tiny sparkler still clutching in his mighty metal digits. Seconds later, it reached the end of the stick, and extinguished itself.

"Just entertainment," replied Fowler. "Wait until the Fourth of July, you'll see some really big ones up in the sky."

"A human holiday?"

"American," he clarified. "But yeah. You'll like it. Celebrates the independence of a small nation from a big, tyrannical government."

Bulkhead hoisted Miko up onto her shoulder so she could start throwing some of the larger fireworks, letting them explode above the heads of the other Autobots and gathered humans in a vibrant display of red, gold, blue and green. She was taking her role as entertainer quite seriously, when she noticed that two members of her audience had vanished.

"Hey, where'd Jack and Arcee go?"

"Oh they're taking a walk down the beach thataways," replied June, pointing down the beach, where the long shadows were slowly starting to obscure the view. None the less, a distinct metal giant was clearly visible in the distance, the fading twilight glinting off of blue armor. The smaller figure beside Arcee could only have been Jack.

"Now hand me one of those sparklers, I'll show you a neat trick I learned in medical college during Spring Break..."

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><p>Jack and Arcee hadn't gone far, in the distance they could both still see the fireworks popping off every so often, illuminating the metallic forms of Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Optimus Prime. Their human companions were much harder to see, but the cries of joy and whoops of excitement were still easy enough to make out as they rest on a small rocky outcropping, just by the edge of the water. They weren't speaking, just enjoying a comfortable silence like they so often did. Arcee was content to let the sounds of the crashing waves, soft and steady, fill the silence as she peered out at the rolling ocean before them. When it was dark like this, it was like a liquid metal, like the protoform material before it became circuitry and plating. Raw, untapped potential, but on a considerably larger scale. She just couldn't help staring. It was so...<p>

"... beautiful," she murmured, unaware she'd spoken aloud until Jack nodded in agreement with her.

"I take it there isn't much water on Cybertron then?" he asked.

She shrugged lightly, shaking her head. "Nothing like this. Biggest I can remember is a lake no larger than Jasper... but this... ocean... goes on for as far as the optic can see and a lot further besides. It's ridiculous."

He chuckled at that. "Hey, don't knock it. I'm sure I'd think it ridiculous living on a planet made of metal."

"Do you?"

Jack laughed again. "Maybe a little but, you know, I still wish I could've seen it. I mean, we've all seen Ratchet's recordings but... it's not the same."

"No, it really isn't..." she lamented.

Glancing back out at the open ocean, Jack watched as one of the waves picked up in the distance, gathering strength until it crashed down against the rocks and sand of the shoreline. The cool spray washed over the two of them, but Jack enjoyed it, and Arcee didn't even seem to noticed. The receding water caught his eye, and he spotted something else was down amongst the rocks just beside them.

"Hey Arcee look, a tide pool..."

Curious, the femme leaned over, following Jack's pointing hand to spot it. An indent in the rocks which had filled with water, and was simply teeming with organic life, most prominently a number of tentacle life forms she didn't recognize, spanning a myriad of colors. It was beautiful, in an eerie sort of way. Life, organic life. A completely self-sustaining ecosystem in one tiny little tide pool, not unlike how Earth must've felt in the larger stage of the galaxy.

"Amazing. A self-contained ecosystem," she murmured, tracing her steel fingertip along the surface of the pool, not wanting to disturb its occupants.

"Such a way with words," remarked Jack.

She chuckled, realizing how she must've sounded. "I wasn't always a warrior," she replied with a cool grin. "I was a student just before the war broke out. I specialized in learning about alien life-forms. Organic ones mostly. Tailgate was a student too, before..." she trailed off.

"Yeah," he said, patting her knee. She'd told him about her former partners after nearly getting him added to the list by Airachnid. "You told me."

She nodded, gazing out at the cool blue expanse. "Yeah but it's not. I'm sure he would've loved visiting a planet like this. Seeing this."

"Ah, so you were the science lab type and he was an outdoorsbot."

She laughed softly, somewhere between a giggle and a snicker. "You even sound like him a bit, sometimes," she added.

"I hope that's a compliment."

Arcee shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

They shared a laugh after that, the sound dying out slowly, replaced by the crash of waves against the shoreline.

"You are a lot like him, Jack. And you're a good partner."

"Just maybe not a good warrior," he lamented.

She shook her head. "Not at all. No, you're not like us, but you're _creative_. You out-think your opponents. You use the landscape against your enemy. My mentor would've said you had the skills to be a true warrior, if he'd ever met you."

"Who was that?"

"Prowl. I'll tell you about him another day."

For a while they just sat in comfortable silence, before Arcee's azure optics flickered over towards the main group, and in particular, one June Darby. Who was watching in concern as two hulking Autobots engaged in a little rough-housing, while Miko and Raf cheered them on. Doubtlessly picturing what could happen if there was a single mis-step.

"Maybe you should go see about your Mom. She must still be freaking out a little about all this."

"Actually she's taking it surprisingly well... I mean, yeah, we had that rough patch..."

The blue femme grimaced, remembering it well. Megatron on a destructive rampage paled in comparison to June Darby when she was worried for her son. Finding out he was involved in a secret war with super-powerful alien robots (and worse) hadn't exactly inspired confidence until they'd told her the whole story.

"But now she's warming up to the idea of us being together. She knows you're not a bad crowd."

Arcee nodded, then turned back out to regard the ocean, watching the moonlight reflect off of the dark waters in a display that was beautiful. Jack eased into a comfortable seat on the rock, leaning lightly against her cool metal frame. Two wholly different beings, from two wholly different worlds, sitting together in the pale moonlight, enjoying one another's company as they listened to the gently swell and crash of the tides below.

* * *

><p><em>And here I thought he'd be in college before he started living with a girl<em>, June thought ruefully as she watched her son and his motorcycle-slash-friend.

She'd been about to go and get their attention, tell them it was time to leave, but seeing them like that, seeing how close they were... she changed her mind. So instead she turned on her heel and crept back through the sand to rejoin the others, most of whom were already settling down on the sand to watch the waves and the water, and even the stars up in the sky as they started to come out. Jasper Nevada wasn't ideal for stargazing, but out here, with no civilization around for miles, it was a perfectly clear night sky.

Without meaning too, she'd found herself coming to sit right up beside Optimus Prime, who did not protest at her company. She glanced up, watching him as he watched the skies. But he wasn't just enjoying the nighttime view. Even now, he seemed to be keeping watch for signs of danger. Airborne danger.

"You're on vacation you know," she gently chided. "It's okay to relax."

"I would suggest you take your own advice then, June Darby. I have noticed how you are keeping the children in sight at all times."

She ducked her head down, mildly embarrassed. "I'm a mom, I'm supposed to be over-protective sometimes."

"Your sense of responsibility is admirable," intoned the metallic giant sitting at her side. "It is easy enough to see where Jack gets his noble qualities from."

She mumbled something under her breath he couldn't quite make out, but seemed like gratitude and embarrassed pride in equal measures. When she looked up again, his gaze had returned to the stars. Always vigilant. Always keeping watch so others would not have to.

"So you don't think this is over, do you?" she asked.

"The conflict with the Decepticons promises only to escalate in the days to come, and then there is the troublesome matter of MECH to consider. We are becoming a part of your world, June Darby. Soon to be a very visible one."

"Sounds like things are going to get worse before they get better," June remarked thoughtfully.

"That it does, though I promise we will do everything we can to shield you all from the dangers to come."

"Well, you all did save me. I'm very grateful for that. Don't get me wrong, the idea of Jack in that sort of danger doesn't sit well with me at all... neither does the lying but... if there's every anything I can do for you, just let me know, okay? I owe you that much."

Optimus Prime shook his head. "There is no need for that. We will not accept kindness out of a sense of debt..."

"Oh! No, that's not what I meant its just. It means a lot to me. That you saved us."

"With Cybertron lost to us, we must find a new home. For now, this planet is that home. And you are our friends. It will please me greatly to know our future is one intertwined, rather than forever parallel. It is a future worth fighting for."

June Darby just smiled and nodded in full agreement.

"Okay," she declared, shaking off that bad feeling like it was an overcoat. "I think its high time we got these kids home and to bed."

Optimus nodded, tapping the side of his head. "Ratchet. A Ground Bridge if you please. We will be returning home."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<br>**The idea of Arcee being a former student, and her fighting mentor being Prowl, are both inspired by Transformers Animated, the previous series.


End file.
